Dishonored
by AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: If you had the choice to start again and change your life for the better, would you make it? Following a year locked away, Ward had decided to make that choice, following the help of a mysterious stranger, to become a better man, even if it isn't in the best way possible. Can the choice he makes change him for the better, or just drive him further into the ground with SHIELD?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One (Choices Define Us)**

'_You know, choices define our everyday lives. They even can determine who we turn out to be. Sometimes it's hard to choose what to do, and we don't know what that choice will lead us to._

_But you make a choice anyway, hoping for the best. That's what we all do. One choice can save your live while the other one can lead you straight to the grave. One can mean you success while the other can be your failure. But people make daring choices everyday._

_One person may make the choice to become a hard-working student and obtain a good job, and they'll end up living a good life. While another person may choose to lead a life of crime, committing various crimes to obtain success. Sometimes that works, but most of the time it doesn't._

_Everyone chooses either to be good or evil. Some people choose to forget what's behind them and start a new life. Or they let that past drive their motivations and lead them straight to failure. That's what I did. _

_I chose to blindly follow a psychopathic maniac just because I thought he saved me from my childhood hell, but he just pulled me straight into an even bigger one. I thought I owed him everything, so I chose to follow him for years, even after he had dumped me in the woods for five of them. _

_That should've been my first clue to run. But no, I didn't see that. I continued on, even when he got me into SHIELD and I became a pretty high up agent. I was still with him, allying ourselves with Hydra. And when it came time to choose sides between him and the people I could basically call my family, I chose him._

_That one choice almost got me killed, and when it was all over, I was sent straight to jail for it. But now I'm out, for some mysterious reason. I was thought dead in an explosion that rocked the prison, but some unknown stranger saved me. _

_For a while I didn't know why this guy, whoever he is, saved me. But now I know he was giving me a new chance at life and the choice to try and make up for everything I have done, even if that means I have to avoid the law time to time. _

_I don't care to meet him, because the last guy that 'saved' me ended up being a psychopath. But I still wish to know why he's giving me a second chance._

_I was pretty much responsible for the release of the inmates in the Fridge, but now I'm trying to round them back up. But now SHIELD's on my tail, and I'm afraid of what is going to happen next. If I get caught, hell, I don't even want to think about that. _

_But I'm making the choice now, I'm going to redefine who I am and try to fix what I have done.'_

* * *

(About Two Weeks Earlier.)

Ward groaned, peeling his eyes open. His body was sore in every place imaginable. He struggled to sit up in the bed he was on.

He took a quick survey of his surroundings, 'This isn't my cell.' he thought. 'Where the hell am I?'

It was true, last thing he remembered was being in his prison cell and then a blinding flash of light and then he was here. And 'here' was a simple log cabin, he thought. And he was in a small bedroom.

'Explosion.' he thought. 'There was an explosion. But how did I get here?'

He got his feet on the floor and saw that there was some kind of note on the table next to him. He picked it up and began to read.

'_Grant, I assuming that's your name, if you are reading this that means you're alive and survived whatever the hell attacked the prison. There are supplies in a backpack near the bed and there's a car outside. I suggest you leave and find you somewhere safe. And you better take up a fake identity or something, 'cause you don't want to be running around using your own name at this point, but I'm sure you're labeled as deceased. In the supplies there is some cash and even a credit card if needed, and use the name on that. If you're wondering what to do at this point, you should make the best of your life. I know what you've done in the past, and now's the chance to make the choice to change it all. _

_Best wishes, a friend who wishes to remain nameless.'_

"What the hell?" Ward muttered.

Who was this guy? And why did he/she want Ward to do better? Of course Ward had been thinking in the past year he had been locked up if he had the chance, he would make the choice to turn everything around. But why did this person want him to do just that?

Ward shrugged and got up and found the backpack. He was still skeptical, but he should still take this stranger's generosity for granted. Inside was clothes, food, and other various material. Ward now noticed that he was wearing clean clothes, not his prison uniform. And it was actually pretty normal, just a pair of jeans and a shirt. A jacket and a pair of boots lay nearby.

He found the cash, only a few hundred dollars, and the credit card. The name on it read Chris Novak, but of course that didn't mean anything. That was just a made-up name. But he took the stranger's advice and thought he should start using that alias until he could figure out what to do.

He put on the jacket and boots, grabbed the backpack and went outside of the cabin. The cabin was in the wood right off of a small side road, probably leading into a town. He found the car, nothing fancy and place the backpack inside. Even more supplies was in the car, but not much.

The keys were already there.

Ward was hesitant though. Who the hell was this guy and why was he being so helpful. The last guy that came to 'help' him was Garrett, and that just led him straight to jail. But he decided, maybe he should try to make a new life and make everything right, no matter who this mystery man was.

Maybe he was trying to give some help. Ward had enough time to think while locked-away and he knew this is what he wanted to do, try to be a better person.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Trying a new fic idea, and I hope this works better than the last. This is basically a vigilante Ward trying to become a better person by rounding up the prisoners he released. This is about a year or so after the s1 finale. Coulson has managed to build up a small SHIELD in that time, as you will tell. But still SHIELD is still a big policing force. I hope you will enjoy this. Keep reading and please review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	2. Chapter 2 (Dead to the World)

**Chapter Two (Dead to the World)**

Director Phil Coulson sat at his desk in the small SHIELD base that he called headquarters. Since SHIELD had been built up to a small organization, Coulson hadn't bothered with building a big headquarters. He rather keep the base small.

There was a knock at the door and an agent came in and dropped off some paperwork, "Here's the information on the prison explosion, sir." he said.

Coulson picked up the papers, "Thank you Maines."

The agent nodded and walked out of the office.

Coulson looked at the paperwork and read the header, _**Official Report of McCall Federal Penitentiary Explosion. **_Normally this wouldn't be a SHIELD matter, but there were several prisoners there that were on SHIELD's watch list, including Ward.

He read over the missing list and then the dead list, his eyes stopping once he got to W. There it read _Ward, Grant Douglas. _He did a double take, looking back at the header of the column, _**dead. **_Right there in print, Ward was listed as dead.

Coulson couldn't believe what he was reading, he'd never thought that Ward would die anytime soon, especially in a way like this. Of course, Coulson didn't have much heart for Ward after the Hydra epidemic of over a year ago, but still, it was a horrible way to die.

He continued to stare at the paper as Skye walked in, "Hey, Coulson, I'm here. What did you need us for?" she asked, walking over to Coulson's desk.

"I'll get to that once the other get here." He held the papers towards Skye, "Here, look at this."

Skye took the papers, "McCall Federal Penitentiary explosion?" she asked. "Wait, isn't that where Ward is locked up at?"

"Keep reading."

Skye's eyes skimmed across the paper until they stopped at the same place Coulson had stopped at earlier. She looked up, eyes wide, "Wait, Ward's dead?" she asked.

"Apparently so."

"How?"

"Killed in the explosion somehow, the report doesn't say."

"What caused the explosion?"

"It hasn't been determined."

"But he's dead."

"Yes."

"Who's dead?"

Skye and Coulson looked to see Fitzsimmons, May, and Triplett walking in for whatever meeting they were going to have.

Coulson sighed, "Ward."

Triplett raised an eyebrow, "Wait, Ward's dead?"

Fitz snorted, "Serves him right."

Simmons elbowed him.

May rolled her eyes, "How did it happen?" she asked.

"There was an explosion at the prison of unknown origin." Coulson explained. "He was killed in the chaos, apparently."

"So he's gone." Simmons said.

"He got what was coming to him." Fitz said. He had developed a hate for Ward after the entire medipod mess and being in a coma for a while. Something in his brain had changed during the coma, and the denial he had about Ward had morphed into hate.

"No one has death coming to him." Coulson said. "It something nobody wants." He thought this because of the entire TAHITI ordeal.

"Tell that to the people he murdered." May said.

Coulson sighed and looked to the papers again, "They were thinking about releasing him into SHIELD custody soon, under my strict watch." he said.

"Wait, what?" Skye said. "They couldn't just release him just like that."

"I argued that with his psychiatrist, and the head of the prison. They said that the solitude conditions weren't right for his mental health."

"Mental health?" Simmons asked. "What was wrong with him?"

"Oh yeah, we never discussed that." Coulson said. "It was reported to me that he did have symptoms Stockholm syndrome and some other problems. A few reasons why he thought Garrett was so great, but not the cause of his actions. That was him.

Apparently, being released into the watch of people who can really help him, will help that. But I wasn't all for it, knowing what he did to us." he continued. "I thought he would try to do something to us again."

"You know I've been visiting him every now and then." Skye said.

Fitz looked at her, "You have?"

"Yes, but there wasn't much talking. He didn't even look at me straight." Skye replied. "Mostly silence, but it looked like he regretted everything. But one of the time he did say something to me he said something along the lines of 'I'm sorry, I wish there was something to make this go all away. I regret everything.' Something like that. But you know, I thought he was just lying to me just to get me to like him again. And I didn't say anything about it."

"He was probably lying, knowing what crap he tossed around when he was with us." May said. "Every relationship he made with us was phony, all a ruse to get in deeper inside of the team."

"Now we won't ever know, he's gone. We can't ask him anymore." Coulson said. He sighed, "Just don't let this get in your way, there's other work to worry about."

* * *

Ward arrived at a motel outside of some town in North Carolina. He never knew were the prison he was locked up in was at, and apparently it was in the same state because it was all over the local news.

He got a room and took his stuff there. Not that great of a room, but it would do until he figured out what to do from here.

But he couldn't even figure out what he should do. He was labeled as dead to the rest of the world and was going by a different name. And some mysterious stranger wants him to 'do better' with his life. How was he going to do that when everyone else thought he was dead? There was no way he could.

He sat down on the bed, turning on the tv to drown out the noise of something going on next door. The news was on covering the explosion of the prison. The explosion came from an unknown source and many inmates were dead and many more missing.

But still, what was there to do now since he was 'dead'? There was no one he could go to since the only people he knew thought he was dead and hated his guts anyway. That option was out. Should he try to start a new life somewhere? Get a job, make new friends, maybe even start a family? He thought that that was just too much.

His stomach grumbled, interrupting his thoughts. He remembered that he hadn't eaten in a long time. There was a diner near the motel that he had seen earlier.

He got up and decided that it wouldn't hurt to grab something to eat, but he thought that he should at least clean up first.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I dont own AoS, Marvel does. The team finds out that Ward is 'dead'. (Yes they're all still close.) And Ward arrives at a North Carolina motel. Boring chapter probably, but action is in the next along with Ward's decision of what to do (maybe). Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and please review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	3. Chapter 3 (I Am not a Hero)

**Chapter Three (I Am not a Hero)**

Ward arrived not too long later at the diner just down the street from the motel. He walked in and ordered just a burger and a drink before sitting down at a booth.

The diner only had a few people in it, including the staff. Obviously this was a small town that didn't see much outsider traffic. That meant he probably really stood out here, he should get moving as soon as he could.

The waitress came to the booth a few minutes later with Ward's food, "Not from around here?" she asked.

Ward looked up, "Oh, yeah. Just traveling the country." he replied.

The waitress placed the burger down on the table, "Well have fun, and enjoy your food."

"Thanks."

She smiled and walked back towards the kitchen.

Ward sighed and picked up his burger and took a bite. He shrugged, it wasn't the best burger, but it would do.

He was halfway through his burger when a crash and a scream caught his attention. He looked towards the front of the diner where the cash register was at. A man dressed in black stood on broken glass, the windows had been shattered, looming over the counter.

"I said give me all of the money!" he screamed.

"There isn't any money in the register right now." The female cashier whimpered. "We just put it in the safe."

"Well then get it out of the safe!" he roared.

"Only the manager can do that, and he just left."

"Damn." The man raised his hand, and oddly enough, the cashier _started to float into the air. _

There was a weird feeling in Ward's stomach, he swore that he had seen the man before. But where? He looked at the man again and his stomach dropped.

This guy had been a Fridge inmate before Ward and Garrett had pretty much broke everyone out of that place. And he must've been one of the inmates in the section of the prison that held supers since apparently this guy had telekinetic powers.

"Please, I'm sorry, but only the manager, has the, key." the cashier tried to say, but obviously was struggling to breath and her face was turning a slight blue.

Ward looked around the diner, everyone was hiding. Of course they were. What else would people do if a man with telekinetic abilities suddenly burst in?

The cashier's blue face started to darken.

Ward suddenly burst forward towards the man and tackled him to the ground, the man releasing his hold on the cashier and she fell to the ground coughing.

The man threw Ward off of him, Ward landing on the shards of glass with a sickening crash. The man stood and loomed over him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

Ward came slowly to his feet, "Keeping you from hurting anyone." he said.

"Why you.. Wait a minute." the man said frowning. "I've seen you before."

Ward shook his head, "No, I don't think so."

"No, I've seen you before."

"Again, no. Now step away from the counter."

"And who the hell are you thinking you can give me orders?"

"Nobody."

"Smartass." the man growled, and took telekinetic hold of a table and threw it towards Ward.

Ward dodged, but his shoulder was grazed by one of the legs. He lunged towards the man and took hold of his head. Ward then swung the back of the man's head up against the edge of the counter, knocking him out cold.

The man fell to the ground with a thud.

The cashier poked her head over the counter to see who had knocked the assailant out and saw no one. Ward had already left the diner as fast as he could.

Ward quickly made it back to the motel in a few minutes and went quickly inside of his room. He didn't want to be there when police arrived, because if he picture somehow got out, and somebody recognized him, he would be sent straight back to jail.

But he actually felt like he had done something good for a change. That man could've killed everyone in that diner if Ward hadn't been there. Hopefully no one would describe Ward's appearance to the police, cause that would ensue people trying to fine this 'heroic man'.

Ward was no hero, he never had been. He was the man that no longer existed, hiding under a false identity to ensure his status stayed like that. He knew that people would be hailing him as the 'mystery hero', but he didn't deserve that.

He never deserved a title such as 'hero'. He wasn't a saint, he was a complete sinner. He felt that he would never be worthy of such a title.

Ward watched as cop cars and an ambulance raced passed the motel towards the diner. The police wouldn't never know who the man was that stopped the super-powered attacker, and Ward planned to keep it that way.

He felt the phone that the stranger had given him buzz in his pocket. He fished it out and read the message that lit up the screen.

'_There's many more like him out loose in the country. A lot of them way more powerful and crazy than him. The public is in danger, and you're the one that released them. Let that settle in before you make your next decision of what to do next.'_

He didn't know who it was from, but he assumed it was from the stranger. But what did it mean? Let it settle in?

Ward thought for a moment. Was the stranger wanting him to recapture the escapees? There was no way that Ward could do that alone. Over a good half of them had wicked powers, and Ward was a simple man, he had no powers. There was no way he could do that. Was there?

* * *

**Author's Note: **I dont own AoS, Marvel does. I know, kind of a short chapter for such a big thing. But I didnt have much thought for this one. Ward takes down a super powered assailant and later receives a message stating that there are tons more of him out there and basically said he should be the one to recapture them. Can Ward do it? Or will he ignore it and continue with his new life plan? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	4. Chapter 4 (A Dead Man's Choice)

**Chapter Four (A Dead Man's Choice)**

Ward soon left the motel after everything that had occurred. He didn't want the possibility of his identity getting out. He knew that in a small town like that, heroes would be largely celebrated, and there would be lots of pictures. And if SHIELD got a hold of a picture of him a massive manhunt would likely ensue.

He may be labeled as dead, but there were probably still suspicions going around to whether or not he was actually dead. And he didn't want to take that chance at being captured.

He knew that Coulson was now Director of SHIELD, and he wouldn't probably make it easy for Ward if he ended up getting caught. And May, she was probably high up too. Ward even thought that somewhere he had saw that May was Deputy Director. And if she was, she would use her power to make Ward's life hell.

Ward shook that thought out of his head and kept on driving. He wanted to drive at least fifty miles away from that small town. Perhaps find another small town with another decent motel and stay there a while and then get on the move again.

The message he had received earlier from the Stranger, that's what he was calling him, floated back into his mind. Was he wanting Ward to round up all of the Fridge escapees? That's what it sounded like. Yes, he did feel guilty about helping free the prisoners, but he had no clue how to recapture them.

It wasn't like he was SHIELD anymore, he was nobody. He was a dead man trying to hide himself from the world. And yes, he did partially want to accept this stranger's request but there were two things stopping him. One, that last stranger that wanted to 'help' him was Garrett, and two, he had no clue how to do it.

How could you recapture extreme bad guys, some with all sorts of powers, without being known? Ward didn't want to be seen, and he knew that this was something that could get himself into SHIELD's eyesight. So taking this job upon himself was a huge risk.

"How am I supposed to do this?" he asked himself. "I'm trying to stay hidden, but I do want to try and do this. How?"

He let that settle into the back of his mind as he continued to drive.

About an hour later he arrived in another small town that luckily had a decent looking motel. He got himself checked in and headed towards his room.

He was exhausted. The whole escapade happened only a few hours ago, but the constant worrying and the quick escape had drug him down. So he decided to do something that he rarely ever did, relax.

Laying back on the nappy bed, Ward turned on the TV that happened to be on the news. But his stomach lurched at what they were covering.

"_We're still following the bizarre incident in Bullstock today where a mysterious assailant, claimed to have some sort of telekinetic power, attacked a local diner. Witnesses report that the man had burst in about 12:30 this afternoon and demanded cash from the cashier._

_When the cashier responded that all of the money had been recently locked away in the safe and that the off-grounds manager had the only access to it, the assailant was claimed to hold out his hand and hoist the cashier into the air. Witnesses claim that nothing was holding her up and she just started to float into the air. _

_Witnesses also report that another man, unknown, apprehended the assailant, knocking him out. The man hasn't been identified and was reported to disappear from the scene._

_The assailant is reported by both police and SHIELD to be a SHIELD prison escapee by the name of Rick Monstan. Monstan escaped from a SHIELD prison last year in the Hydra uprising. He is now back in SHIELD's custody._

_According to the newly-reformed government agency, there is a high number of escapees on the loose since the uprising. But they are assuring that everyone should be safe as they have numerous teams out hunting down these escapees."_

The news anchor went on to another story.

'So there's more than just the Fridge escapees then.' Ward thought. 'SHIELD must not be doing a very good job at rounding them up then. So it's decided, I'll try to recapture these criminals, it's the least that I can do.'

He decided to try and send a text to the Stranger.

'_Fine. I'll try to round them up the best I can. I just don't want to be caught since SHIELD knows my face.'_

Ward stayed at the motel for two more days until a mysterious package showed up at his room's doorstep. He assumed that it was from the Stranger.

He took it inside and opened it up. An eyebrow raised as he took out a strange-looking mask. It was highly mechanical and skull-like and had a note attached to it.

'_Glad to hear that you are willing to help. This is a gift from me, along with the knife and small gun. I had a friend make them especially for you. He says that the mask, however it works, is like a computer apparently. Once it's on, a display comes up. It should show targets that are know SHIELD escapees and other various things. It should keep your identity concealed according to him. I hope that you're successful in this.'_

Again, no name.

Ward looked once more in the box and found a high-tech knife and gun that closely resembled an ICER, apparently he didn't need to be killing the escapees, only rendering them unconscious.

He looked back to the mask in his hand, its skull likeness glaring back at him. Was this who his persona was going to become, a skull? He wouldn't have thought of something menacing, just a simple mask.

But he was making the choice now, he was going to try and recapture these criminals, still knowing that even this wouldn't make up for the things that he has done.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I dont own AoS, Marvel does. Yeah, I dont feel like explaining this chapter other than Ward decides to track down the escapees. I wont be able to update for a day or two. And if you are wondering what the mask looks like, look up the game Dishonored, or if you play it, that's what it is supposed to look like. (That's where I got the story name from.) Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	5. Chapter 5 (A Shadow in the Night)

**Chapter Five (A Shadow in the Night)**

"Oh boy, I really got it tonight!"

The Fridge escapee known as John Minorsky loomed gleefully over a duffel bag filled to the zipper with huge wads of cash within his dumpy, decaying apartment.

"If I keep doing like this, I'll be living the high life in no time!" he exclaimed.

After Minorsky had escaped the Fridge, he took up a life of crime again like the majority of the other escapees did. He was becoming more caution though, since he had heard that another escapee had been caught not too far from where he was at.

Unlike a lot of the Fridge inmates, Minorsky didn't have powers. He was just a crazy lunatic with a knack for breaking and entering. A few years ago, he had decided to break into a SHIELD weapons base and try to steal some weapons he had thought that would have gotten him a high price on the black market. Of course he failed, along with killing four agents, and was captured and sent right to the prison that they called the Fridge.

He hoped to steal enough money and items that he could sell on the black market to achieve rich status. All of his life he was always poor, he never had enough money to be happy, he could hardly get by. But now was his chance to make it big, even if it was the illegal way.

He was prepared to place the money in his hidden safe when a noise, which sounded like his door closing, startled him. Dropping the duffel bag on the dust-ridden bed, he spun around to see what had caused the noise. He stepped back as he came face-to-face with a masked man dressed in black.

"W-Who are you?!" Minorsky stammered, eyes focusing on the man's skull-like mask.

The man didn't say anything, he only stepped forward towards the escapee.

"Take the money, if that's what you want!" Minorsky exclaimed. He examined the figure's mask a little more, "No, your fancy mask there looks to technologically advanced for you to be a simple robber. Who are you?"

Again, no response.

Minorsky narrowed his eyes, "You're SHIELD, aren't you?!" he exclaimed.

The figure stepped forward, "I'm not with SHIELD, not anymore." he stated.

Minorsky stepped back, running into the foot of his bed, "Then who are you?! What do you want with me?!"

The man pulled out a high-tech looking knife from a sheath at his side, "I'm trying to clean up what I have done."

Minorsky held up his hands in mock defeat, "Okay, you've got me, but I don't know what you are talking about though." he said. "Do whatever you want with me."

The masked man cautiously lowered his knife and took a step forward towards Minorsky.

Then out of nowhere, Minorsky's foot shot out, kicking the masked man's legs out from underneath him. The man fell to the ground with a thud and a grunt.

Minorsky started towards his apartment door, grabbing up the money-filled duffel bag in the process. But the man jumped quickly to his feet and threw his knife at him.

The knife embedded itself into Minorsky's left shoulder. Dropping the bag, Minorsky cried out in pain and tried to pull the now blood-covered knife from his shoulder. He gritted his teeth as the blade tore muscle and nerve fiber alike. Throwing the knife to the ground, Minorsky's left arm dangled uselessly by his side. Ignoring the pain and his now useless arm, he charged towards the masked man and swung his right fist as hard as he could.

The man parried with his forearm, grunting in pain from the blunt force. He took Minorsky by the right arm and sent a clear kick into the escapee's gut and threw him to the ground.

Minorsky grunted in pain and coughed up a few specks of blood, but despite everything he managed to get back up onto his feet quickly and send a flying punch into the man's gut.

The man dry-heaved as another punch grazed the side of his mask, sending a jolt through his head. But the man quickly recovered and pulled out yet another high-tech weapon, a blue-glowing gun.

Minorsky narrowed his eyes, clutching his lifeless, limp left arm, "You're going to kill me?!" he asked. "What the hell did I do to you?! I don't even know who the hell you are! You come into the privacy of my apartment and you attack me! What are you even after anyway? What the hell are you trying to so-called 'clean up'? What do you want with me?!"

The man quickly fired two shots from his gun, "You're an inmate I was responsible for releasing, and I'm taking you back."

As the blue bullets hit Minorsky, he frowned as a heavy darkness started to wash over him, "You were, with, with, Hydra that day, weren't you?" he asked as he collapsed into unconsciousness.

The man shook his head as he sheathed his gun and knife, "I never was with Hydra." he muttered.

He looked up as a message flashed up on the HUD of his mask. _'Police in vicinity.' _

"Damn." he muttered. "Someone must've heard the fighting. At least this guy will go back to the Fridge, hopefully." He looked back at the unconscious, bleeding Minorsky, "The cops are coming, you better stay asleep." he muttered.

The masked, black-clad man disappeared out of the apartment as police sirens wailed and red and blue lights flashed outside and the echoing, thudding footsteps of running policemen sounded in the building's hallways.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. A Fridge escapee is tracked down and taken down by a mysterious masked, black-clad man. Is this man Ward? And if it is, is this his first takedown as a masked vigilante, or is this just another one under the belt? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	6. Chapter 6 (On Suspicion)

**Chapter Six (On Suspicion) **

Ward sighed, placing his mask down onto the nappy motel bed. How many escapees did Minorsky make? Like four? He sat down on the edge of the bed after taking his tight-fitting, black shirt off.

He examined his bruised arms. The bruises came from the intense fights that the escapees delivered. There were even a few burns from the second escapee he fought that still caused him pain. The guy happened to be able to create fire, and that didn't go towards Ward's favor. An entire abandoned building had burned down before he was able to take the guy down.

He sighed once again and got up and headed towards the shabby bathroom to wash off his face. Why did the motels he ended up at always weren't very good? He guessed that was the cost of lying low in small towns.

He was now in Kentucky, that's what Minorsky led him to. And he would go wherever the next escapee would take him, it didn't matter to him. There was nowhere else for him to go anyway.

After throwing water onto his face, he reached for the towel on the counter. He dried his face off and threw the towel to the side. He looked to the mirror and noticed a massive purpling bruise on his stomach. Probably where Minorsky had launched his foot into him.

Going back towards the bed, Ward grabbed a clean t-shirt out of his bag and slipped it on. He then sat down on the bed and turned the tv onto a low volume and checked the time on his phone. It was just past 11 PM.

After watching whatever was on tv, he didn't know. He slipped into a light sleep. There were more escapees to track down, but he shouldn't be doing it while running on no sleep.

* * *

"Damn, another one?" Coulson asked himself, looking at a report.

"Hey AC, what's the matter?" Skye asked, coming into Coulson's office with May.

"Well it's not exactly a problem. Actually, I don't know what it is." Coulson replied.

"It's the fourth time that it has happened." May said, standing beside Coulson.

Skye frowned, "Fourth time for what?" she asked.

"The fourth time that a Fridge escapee has been apprehended by an unknown person." Coulson replied.

"Is it the same person?" Skye asked.

"We don't know." May said. "But witnesses report a masked man dressed in all black leaving the scenes of two of them."

"Masked?"

"According to sightings, the man wears a skull-like mask." Coulson said, showing May and Skye a sketch of the masked man. "Even though he is taking care of Fridge escapees, he needs to be brought in for questioning. Fridge escapees are official SHIELD business, why would an average guy be hunting them down?"

"Maybe he has something against them?" Skye asked.

"Against all of them?" May replied. "That doesn't sound right. Maybe one or two. But tracking all of them down seems fishy. That's why we need to bring him in."

"We're going to keep an eye out for this guy, make sure that no one is harmed." Coulson said. "Maybe it's good that there's a guy that is bringing these escapees to justice along with our efforts, but I don't know. I just don't want some vigilante running around. It seems unsafe for the general public. He needs to be brought in before something happens."

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Ward stepped quietly through the winding allies of New York City. Yes, his efforts took him this far. He was tracking down another escapee by the name of Colin Cain, some psycho that apparently had super strength. According to his records, he went completely crazy in an apartment complex, killed a few people, and almost leveled an entire floor. Ward figured that he should be careful with this one.

He was about to take another turn when a voice out of nowhere yelled "Freeze!" And of course, Ward froze right in his tracks.

"Put your hands up, stay where you are, and turn slowly to face me!"

'Damn. Cops.' Ward thought. 'And when I thought that everything was going smoothly.'

Ward slowly raised his hands into the air, and turned around to face the New York City cop with a gun.

"What the hell?" the cop asked, seeing Ward's mask.

The cop was a lean, tall, young-looking guy, probably fairly new to the job. He probably saw Ward creeping around in the dark alleyways and decided to investigate.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

Ward said nothing.

"State your business! And take off the mask!"

Ward clenched his fists and remained silent. He needed to get to the escapee before he got away, now this cop was in his way. Ward pulled out his ICER-like gun.

The cop flinched and stepped towards Ward, tightening his grip on his own gun, "Drop the gun now!" he yelled.

Ward hesitated. He didn't want to hurt the cop, but his gun was an ICER-type and would just knock him out. He hesitated for another second, but then fired, hitting the cop in the shoulder.

The cop let out a grunt of pain, wavered, and collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Ward took one last look at the cop before running off towards the building that the next escapee was in.

He was now growing afraid. Once the cop woke up and made his way back to the station or whatnot, the call for his arrest over assaulting a police officer would probably go out. And in a big city like New York, he would have to be careful. And with a story as 'a skull-masked man knocks cop out with mysterious gun', would get all over the news along with his masked sketch.

He would now have to go fast and keep moving, there would be no time to take a break.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. SHIELD is now watching Ward's masked persona and Ward makes the mistake of running into a cop and having to knock him out. That can't end well, right? Of course not. It never does. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	7. Chapter 7 (High Alert)

**Chapter Seven (High Alert)**

Ward shot to his right, dodging a super-powered fist that was heading right towards his head. He then sidestepped, making Cain ram into the opposite wall.

"I don't know who the hell you are," Cain roared. "but you're not taking me anywhere!" He spun around to face Ward. He glared at Ward's mask, "And what's up with the damn mask?" he asked. "Are you too much of a coward to face me? Why don't you take it off?"

Ward unsheathed his knife and hurled it at Cain, lodging it in the bicep of his right arm, "One, I don't want to, and two, it gives me an advantage."

Cain pulled the knife out with one, solid movement, blood flying into the air. He tossed it to the ground with a snarl, "I don't know what kind of advantage that piece of crap gives you, but I don't like it. And who the hell do you think you are, coming into the privacy of _my _apartment just to start attacking me?" he asked, taking a step towards Ward.

"You gave up all privacy once you took a step into the Fridge." Ward said. "And now that you escaped, there's still no privacy."

Cain grinned, "I really didn't 'escape', someone let me out. I believe it was a group of Hydra agents. I wish I could meet them, so I can give my sincere thanks."

Ward flinched. He was one of the people that let Cain and all of the others out in the first place, he felt sick that Cain wanted to thank him.

"And I'm not going to fall victim to you, I've only been out like a year. You're the one that's going down."

"What the hell is happening here?!" A voice exclaimed as the apartment door burst open.

Ward looked to see the building security guard standing in the doorway.

The guard's eyes widened as he saw the masked Ward, the bloody knife on the floor, and the bloody arm of Colin Cain. "Who the hell are you?!" he exclaimed, pointing at Ward.

Ward frowned. Of course he notices the masked man before the psychopathic criminal, but the guard didn't know that Colin was an escapee, just someone living in the building.

Colin, with a burst of speed, grabbed the guard in a headlock, "Leave me now, or this guard gets it."

Ward hesitated, he needed to apprehend Colin, but he didn't want the innocent security guard to die.

"Make one move, and his head comes clean off."

"Don't involve him in this." Ward said. "He has nothing to do with this."

"He did once he stepped foot in this room."

"Put him down." Ward stated firmly, reaching for his ICER.

"Oh, I'm so scared. I'm gonna listen to the skull man." Cain mocked.

"Put. Him. Down." Ward said, raising his gun.

Cain tightened his grip on the guard's neck, the guard now starting to choke and struggle for air.

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Ward yelled, running towards Cain.

But he was too late. With a sickening crunch, the guard's head came clean off thanks to the brute force of Cain's super strength. The guard's headless body fell to the ground, blood pooling from the neck onto the carpet, and the head rolling about two feet from the body.

"Oops." Cain said. "My arm slipped."

Ward tackled Cain with all of his strength and dug the nose of the ICER into Cain's neck. He fired five shots into Cain. He wobbled and fell to the ground unconscious.

Ward picked up his knife right before a cop came running into the room. Ward froze seeing the NYC cop.

The cop's eyes widened, seeing the decapitated security guard and Cain's unconscious body. "Freeze!" he yelled, whipping out his gun. "Stay where you are!" He then spoke into his walkie-talkie, "I need major backup at the Palm Tree Apartment complex on 2nd, stat! I repeat,"

Ward quickly fired an ICER shot into the cop, knocking him out. He then ran as fast as he could out of the complex. As he was running, he took his mask off and hid it in his shirt. He had to make it back to the motel before the cops showed.

His life was probably now on the line. He would be charged with the brutal murder of a security guard and two assaults on police officers. But he didn't know about Cain since once they ran his name, they would find out that Cain was a SHIELD fugitive and would immediately transport him to SHIELD.

He was probably a wanted man once again, well at least his vigilante self. If he decided to keep going, he had to be on high alert.

* * *

"We're going have to alert SHIELD agents all over the country for this guy." Coulson reported to a massive group of agents in the base's conference room. "He may be small at the moment, but the NYPD are already on his tail for the assault of two officers and the murder of an apartment security guard. Cain has been transported to one of our prisons and is also under suspicion for the murder of the security guard, but we're also eyeing this man too."

Coulson motioned toward a sketch of a skull-masked man on a screen in the room, "If you see him, apprehend him, call for backup, and bring him in. If he can deal with Fridge inmates, he's pretty skilled in fighting, so watch yourselves. We need to bring this guy in before anybody else gets seriously hurt. He is now on SHIELD's radar."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Cain is taken care of, but with a price. Ward's persona is now suspected for murder and assault. And now SHIELD is on his tail. Can Ward continue his mission, or will he be forced to quit in order to protect himself? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and please review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	8. Chapter 8 (I Still Trudge On)

**Chapter Eight (I Still Trudge On)**

(About Three Days Later)

Ward was in a small town several miles outside of New York City. He decided not to leave the area since there were a considerable amount of escapees still in the area. Surprising, isn't it?

Despite his alter-ego being a wanted man, he still trudged one through the danger, trying to get his work done.

He walked towards a small diner, not too far from where he was staying. He figured that while he was just Ward, not the masked vigilante, nobody would spot him. As long as SHIELD wasn't in the area, which they probably were. He would just have to keep an eye out for anyone that looked SHIELD-like.

After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the diner, went in, and ordered his food, deciding on chicken this time, and sat down. It took a little while, but his food arrived and he began eating, until something on the small TV in the corner of the diner caught his attention.

'_Local authorities, including SHIELD, are looking for an unknown vigilante they are calling 'Skeleton', due to the man's skull-like mask and black clothing.'_

Ward looked at the TV, 'Skeleton? There's no way in hell I'm going by that name.' he thought. 'And SHIELD is here, great.'

'_The masked vigilante is suspected of the assault of two NYPD officers and the brutal murder of a local apartment security guard. Authorities are advising all citizens to be on the look out for this man and report any sighting immediately.'_

The news reporter went on to another story.

Ward looked at his half-empty plate, 'So the whole state is on the lookout for me, not just the city. Great. And there's no doubt that this story has spread to other states by now. If I continue, it's going to be hard. But where do I look next?'

In boredom, he looked back to the TV, which was reporting breaking news.

"_This just in, a local bank is being brutally held up by a SHIELD escapee. Reports say about thirty minutes ago, John Reece, a known Hydra Uprising SHIELD escapee, walked into the NYC Bank on 12__th__, pulled out what we are being told was an axe, and demanded all of the cash located in the vault. Reece was imprisoned by SHIELD after killing five people with a technologically advanced axe.'_

The story went on.

Ward clinched his fist, he guessed that he found his next target.

* * *

"Get on the ground, now! Or all of your heads will be coming off!" The escapee known as John Reece yelled, holding his mechanical axe into the air. "I said get on the ground!" He swung his axe at a young man, the blade slicing right through his neck.

The young man's head rolled onto the ground in a puddle of blood. Everyone huddling on the bank's floor screamed.

"No screaming either!" Reece yelled. "I want complete silence!"

"Why's that?"

"Who's talking?" Reece asked, turning around to see a masked man. Reece stepped back, "You're that Skeleton guy, aren't you?!" he exclaimed.

Ward shook his head, "I don't know where they got that name from, but that's not my name." he said.

"Then what is it?" Reece growled.

"Oh, it's none of your business."

Reece swung his axe towards Ward in anger, but Ward only dodged it. The axe clearly missed Ward by several inches, and embedded its blade into the tile floor of the bank.

Reece glared at Ward, trying to pull his axe out of the floor, but it was stuck, "I know why you're here." he growled. "You're that guy that has been capturing my fellow escapees. Word gets around."

"Is that a bad thing?" Ward asked, coming up with his own knife.

"To me it is. And that means your head."

All around the two, the hostages trembled in fear at the sight of two wanted men.

Ward walked up to Reece and put his blade up against the man's neck, slicing it a little, "What is it with you and heads?" he asked. "Clearly nothing is in yours."

"Damn you!" Reece growled, grabbing Ward's arm and flinging him to the ground, the knife skidding across the floor far away. "And learn this now, I always get what I want! No matter what!" he yelled.

But glass crashed and several black-uniformed soldiers, SHIELD agents, burst inside.

"Well damn." Reece growled. "Looks like they're here." he said, looking at Ward who now just got up.

"I didn't bring them." Ward said. "I'm on my own."

"Well they're here for you too."

"Drop your weapons now!" one of the SHIELD agents yelled. "Now! By the order of SHIELD!"

Reece held up his hands in mock defeat, "Well mine's already buried in the ground." He felt the tip of a gun bury into his neck. He strained to see Ward, digging his ICER into his neck. "You know you're going down with me."

"So?" Ward fired two bullets into Reece's neck and he fell unconscious. He quickly spun around and headed towards the back of the bank.

"Follow him!"

Ward turned his head to see half of the agents running after him. He felt something graze his side, and a burst of pain. A bullet. He stumbled, but kept his balance and held onto his bleeding side.

He dashed out the back door and headed into the alleyways. Turn after turn, he kept running until the agent's yells became a distant mutter. He stopped and took off his mask and stashed it with his gun.

He looked at himself quickly, he was missing his knife and the side of his shirt was ripped open, blood oozing out. Clenching his jaw through the pain, he continued towards the motel he was staying in.

He had to run at least an hour before he got inside of his room since the small town was about four or five miles from NYC. Dropping down onto the bed, he slid his mask back on to make sure everything was working properly. A dark-red alert light illuminated the HUD. That's when he heard the beeping.

Attached to his side was a tracking device. "Damn." He growled, ripping it off. "Must've been on that agent's bullet." He froze as shouts echoed from outside.

SHIELD had tagged him, and Ward had led them straight to him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. If you are wondering, this isnt going to be a long story, maybe about four or five more chapters at the least. Yeah, so all of that happened. Don't have time to explain, I have to get to my AP Biology work. I'll just leave you on that. Might update again tonight. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	9. Chapter 9 (Captured)

**Chapter Nine (Captured)**

Ward froze as he saw SHIELD agents right outside the window of his room most likely surrounding the motel complex. He led them straight to where he was staying, and he didn't even know that he had been tracked. Glass crashed as two agents came in through the window, guns pointed at Ward.

"On your knees, now!" the taller of the two agents yelled, stepping towards Ward and pointing his gun towards his head. "Now!"

Ward dropped to his knees, knowing that there was nothing else he could do at this point. The building was most likely surrounded by numerous agents that he couldn't outfight. He was done.

The agents stood by his sides as the door to the room flew open. Ward froze as he saw some of the people he'd never thought that he would see again, Coulson accompanied by May, Skye, and Triplett. Fitzsimmons weren't with them.

Coulson came forward towards Ward with a scowl on his face, "Now you probably didn't think that the Director of SHIELD would be the one taking you in, did you?" he asked. "I wanted to see personally who was bringing down all of those Fridge escapees. You may have thought that you were doing a good deed, but two NYPD officers were hospitalized because of you and a security guard was brutally decapitated."

"That wasn't me." Ward muttered. "I didn't kill anyone."

Coulson furrowed his eyebrows thinking that something sounded familiar about this guy, but he shrugged it off, "Oh, really?" he asked. "Then who was it then?"

"Colin Cain." Ward muttered.

Coulson looked back at May.

"He was brought in just last week." May said. "And he was brought down by this guy, and found unconscious next to the decapitated security guard. It may be a possibility. Cain's just another suspect."

Coulson looked back to Ward, "Ok, you may or may not have killed the guard. But you are wanted for evading the law, assault of police officers, breaking and entering."

But my one big question is this. Why does some random citizen decide to don some kind of technologically advanced mask to hunt down only Fridge escapees? Why do they matter to you?" he asked. "It makes no sense."

"Sir, he has this." one of the agents by Ward's side said, tossing Coulson the ICER that Ward had.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, holding up the gun, "This is an ICER, SHIELD tech. How the hell did you get a hold of one?" he asked.

Ward only shrugged.

"Not going to say anything, huh?" Coulson asked. "Have any last words before I take off that mask and you're dragged to Headquarters for questioning?"

"Go ahead and do it." Ward said in a normal voice.

They all narrowed their eyes at his voice, recognition sparking in their faces.

"Go ahead and take me, there's no where else for me to go. I'm a dead man anyway."

Coulson moved to right in front of the kneeling Ward, "Well you're going back to Headquarters anyway." He removed the mask, clutching it in his hand. He took a slight step back in surprise, "_Ward?_" he asked.

Ward looked up slightly at Coulson, "Well, are you happy now, Coulson?" he asked. "You've finally figured out who was bringing down all of those escapees."

Skye stepped forward, "But Grant, you're dead. You were killed." she stated, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Yeah, you were reported killed in that prison explosion." Triplett added. "How are you here?"

"I don't know." Ward replied quietly. "I remember a flash of light and then I woke up elsewhere. Some guy saved me, I don't know who though." he explained. "I'll go with you though, no use putting up a fight."

Coulson motioned for the two agents to pull Ward to his feet.

Ward winced as the movement agitated his gunshot wound. Even though the bullet had only grazed him, it had caused some big damage to the skin and it hurt like hell.

"Good. Don't put up a fight." Coulson said. "Make this nice and easy. Don't make it end up like last time we confronted you." He motioned towards May.

Ward slowly nodded.

One of the agents by Ward took a good look at him and suddenly his face contorted into anger, "Why the hell are we bringing him in?!" he exclaimed. "He should be killed right now!"  
Coulson looked at him, "What did you say, agent?" he asked sternly. "He is being brought in for questioning. Why should he be killed?"

"He was the one that killed my partner during the Uprising!"

Ward frowned, he didn't remember that. But in truth, he didn't remember who he had killed then.

"That doesn't mean his death." Coulson stated. "You are not to lay a finger on him, my orders."

"Your orders my ass!" the agent exclaimed, digging the tip of his gun into Ward's shoulder. "If we follow your exact orders, we'll never get anything done!"

"Stand down!" Coulson exclaimed, as May, Skye, and Triplett came forward.

"Like hell I will! This is for my partner!" A gunshot rang out.

Ward fell to the ground, blood oozing from his shoulder.

Another bullet rang out. May fired an ICER bullet from the gun she had into the agent's chest, knocking him out.

Coulson pointed to the other agent, "You, get Kilston here and wait here, I'll have Agent Hill come apprehend him." He looked at Triplett, "Trip, help me get Ward. And it doesn't matter what you think about him, I don't want anybody dying on my watch!"

* * *

(A few hours later.)

Ward groaned and peeled his eyes open to harsh, white light. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed that he was in an infirmary room, a SHIELD infirmary room. He tried to move his left arm, but a clank signaled that he was handcuffed to the bed.

His shoulder and side hurt like hell and he looked to see that he was shirtless and his torso was completely bandaged. He sat up, looking around to see if anyone was there.

"So you're awake."

Ward turned to see Skye sitting in a chair not too far away from the bed. He looked down, "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you hated me."

"I do." Skye replied. "But I wanted to ask you something, without Coulson or May being here."

"Ok? It's just you right?"

"Nope." She pointed towards the door, "Fitzsimmons are here too."  
Ward looked to see both Fitzsimmons walking into the room. Fitz had a scowl on his face and Simmons looked sort of relieved that he was awake.

"We want to know too." Fitz said. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Ward asked.

"You know what. Why did you suddenly decide to become some sort of hero? You were a villain, a heartless bastard that didn't care about any of us. I was in a coma for several weeks because of you. You broke Skye's heart and all of our trust. Why become some sort of hero now?" Fitz asked.

Simmons nudged him, "Don't be that rude." she muttered.

"Look, I do regret that all." Ward said. "I was labeled as a dead man. I'm only alive because some stranger helped me out. And I made my own decision. I wanted to basically start my life back over, do something good for a change. That guy made a few suggestions and I decided to go back after the people _I _released.

I might of have took it a little too far with the mask and all, but that wasn't my idea. I wanted a way to get these guys back without anybody knowing who I was. Unfortunately I ran into a few cops that I knocked out. But I didn't kill anyone. I just wanted to make a change. Make a decision for myself for once."

Ward shifted and groaned in pain.

"Don't move! You'll open up your side and shoulder wounds!" Simmons exclaimed.

"But look, I don't care what you have to say about me. I just wanted to become someone better. I wanted to fix something that I had done." Ward continued. "What else do you want me to say?"

Skye nodded, "And you're telling the truth?"

"Yes."

"Surprising." Fitz snorted.

"I know that you all hate me." Ward said. "But I was just trying to do something good, knowing that I could never erase the scars of my past. The scars that destroyed everything that I knew, leaving me with nothing left. Actually, I never had anything for myself. Everything was just Garrett, what he said was final and I followed everything. And that destroyed everything that I had created on my own."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Ward is captured by Coulson after being shot by another agent. After he wakes up in the hospital, he has a heart to heart with Skye and Fitzsimmons. Did they believe what he said, or did they just think he was lying? And can he testify for himself, saving him from more jail time? Maybe, maybe not. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE REVIEW! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	10. Chapter 10 (Tell Us Everything)

**Chapter Ten (Tell Us Everything)**

It wasn't until a few days later that Ward was brought in for interrogation by Coulson. Ward was relived that it wasn't right away though because he had some time to think about what he was going to say.

Ward sat in the lone chair of the black-walled interrogation room. Similar to the Cage on the Bus, but just bigger. Coulson walked back and forth in front of him.

After what seemed like eternity, Coulson finally stopped and turned to look straight at Ward.

"So," he began. "Why did you do it?" he asked.

Ward sighed, "I already told you everything when you found me." he said. "Do I really have to say it again?"

Coulson nodded, "Yes, because this time there are cameras that are recording exactly what we both are saying. It's so that we have a record of what you're telling us."

"Like I said, I woke up in an unknown cabin not far from the prison a few hours after the explosion." Ward explained. "Some guy rescued me and even gave me supplies and money to use."

"Did this guy ever say who he was?" Coulson asked.

Ward shook his head, "No, he never did. Whatever messages he sent me were always signed with something like 'a friend you will come to know', stuff like that."

"Was there anything that may have signaled that this guy was with Hydra?"

"No, and I don't know why this guy would be. I don't think Hydra would want someone to do good by suggesting that they round up SHIELD criminals and have access to SHIELD tech."

"So you're saying it wasn't entirely your idea to capture the criminals?" Coulson asked.  
"Yes, but the guy just suggested it. That's all. I made the choice to do it, I thought that it would be something good for a change. But I did take it out of control with the vigilante stuff though."

Coulson nodded, "Good news, you're no longer charged with the murder of the security guard." he said. "We've deduced that it was it was Colin. But you're still charged with the assault of those two officer and a few other smaller crimes. And now that you've been unlabeled as dead, the government wants to throw you straight back into prison because to them you still are a terrorist and a murderer, and in SHIELD's eyes you are too."

Ward didn't respond.

Coulson stepped closer, "But I made a deal with them, the FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security, that's how wanted you were. I got them to allow me to bring you only into SHIELD custody, so you'll be staying in the prison block here at Headquarters so I myself can keep eyes on you."

Ward still remained silent.

"So you're not wanting to talk, I thought that you would be glad that you're just in SHIELD custody now. Oh well. And I thought that you may like this next part."

Ward looked at Coulson.

"I wanted to try something, something that Deputy Director May didn't like. I thought that you could work for SHIELD again, directly under my orders, seeing that you wanted to fix what you have done. But you would be under strict restriction, emphasis on strict. Your level would be reset straight back to one, you'll have a tracking device, and minimum interaction with other agents. You wouldn't be allowed on solo mission for a long time, you'll have to be paired up with another agent of a higher level. How does that sound to you?"

Ward didn't say anything for a few moments but then nodded, "Yes, I'll do it." he said. "Whatever it takes to not be in prison."

Coulson smiled just a little bit, "Good, I know you wanted to rewrite who you are, and this can be just the beginning of a long, long road." He walked over to Ward and locked a tracking bracelet onto Ward's wrist. "And your close supervision starts now. Don't make me disappointed. Your first major goof-up will result in your imprisonment. Do you understand?"

Ward nodded.

"I said, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I'll have you escorted to your private quarters near my office." Coulson said. "In there you will,"

A massive explosion cut him off.

Coulson looked around as Ward jumped to his feet, "Damn!" Coulson yelled. He looked towards Ward, "Looks like this is your first mission, Ward. Do not fail. Protect the building and its agents no matter the cost!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for such the short chapter, I'm having eye trouble and can't really focus on writing right now. So Coulson gives Ward his one and only chance to redeem himself just as an explosion rocks Headquarters. Can Ward prove himself in this situation, or will he just abandon SHIELD for good? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	11. Chapter 11 (Do or Die)

**Chapter Eleven (Do or Die)**

Ward ran by Coulson's side for a while down the winding hallways of Headquarters. After a while Coulson stopped and handed an ICER to Ward, "I'm trusting you with this, believe it or not. I'm leaving it to you to help find whatever the cause of that explosion was. Don't fail. It something bad happens on your terms, you'll be locked straight up. It's do or die."

Ward accepted the ICER gingerly and nodded. He then took off down the chaotic hallways of Headquarters.

He didn't know where to go though, so he kept going down different routes hoping to find something.

"_Attention all SHIELD personnel, there is an unknown assailant on Headquarters grounds. I repeat, there is an unknown assailant on Headquarters ground. If you come into contact with the assailant, there are full orders to attack."_

Ward sped up as he heard the alert. It was just one lone man? What kind of guy would send Headquarters into a blind frenzy? This wasn't good.

There was no telling who this guy was and what he looked like, Ward would just have to keep his eyes peeled for anyone suspicious.

He turned down another hallway, only to run into someone. He stepped back, "Skye? What are you doing here?"

Skye raised an eyebrow, "What are _you _doing here?" she asked. "Me, I'm trying to figure out who the hell is attacking us. And shouldn't you be locked up?"

Ward clenched his fist, "It's a long story."

"You escaped then."

"What? No. Coulson let me help with this."

"Why would he?"

"Like I said, it's a long story. I'll explain it to you once this whole thing is over."

"And Coulson let you use a gun?"

"It's an ICER."

"Same difference."

"Do they even know who's attacking?" Ward asked.

Skye shook her head, "No, that's what I was trying to figure out until you showed up. And now if you mind, leave me alone." She turned around and went the other way.

"Fine then." Ward grumbled. "Be that way." He started to go the other way when a scream cut through the hallway. He whipped around and saw Skye running full speed towards him, being followed by a man.

Skye ran and got behind Ward, "If you are going to help, do something!" she yelled.

Ward took a step forward, but froze when he saw the man's appearance. The man was dressed in a black t-shirt and jean, and he was covered from head to toe by countless, bleeding cut. The man was covered in blood.

The man smiled, "Don't get in my way, nothing will keep me from her." he said, pointing to Skye.

Ward pointed his ICER at the man, "What the hell are you? Why do you want her?!"

"My real name will come in time, but for the time being you can call me Ender. And as for the girl, she is my daughter."

Skye's eyes widened in fear, "No way! There is no damn way that I'm related to you!"

"Au contraire, my daughter."

Ward fired two ICER bullets at Ender, but he only smiled as they hit.

"That tickles. I'm sorry, son, those don't work on my kind." he said.

"Kind?" Ward asked.

"Yes, my kind." Ender said, grabbing Ward by the neck and hoisting him into the air. "The Kree." He threw Ward up against the wall and grabbed Skye by the arm, "Let's go."

Ward groaned in pain as he watched Ender and Skye blink out of view. He shook the fuzziness out of his head and bolted to his feet, "Skye!" he yelled.

"What's going on?!"

Ward turned to see Coulson and Triplett running into view, "Skye, she's gone."

Coulson and Trip stopped, "What? What do you mean she's gone?"

"The assailant took her, teleported away with her."

"Teleported?" Trip asked. "Who was he?"

Ward gulped, "He said to call him Ender, said he was something called a Kree. And said that Skye was his daughter."

"What?!" Coulson exclaimed. "And did you even try to protect her?"  
"Yes, I did. But ICER bullets didn't work on him and he threw me up against the wall. I'm sorry, I couldn't."

"And you've already failed me." Coulson hissed. "I want you in my office in ten." He walked away with Triplett.

Ward dropped to his knees, he threw away his only chance at a new life and Skye had been captured by some kind of psychotic alien. And how was he to blame when he didn't know how to defend himself and others against an unknown alien?

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for such the small chapter, my eyes are hurting from an eye exam (I've got to get glasses.). I decided to further the story even further by throwing in Skye's heritage in the mix. Don't worry, Ward's vigilante stuff will come back up soon. I hope you enjoy the new twist! Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	12. Chapter 12 (There Wasn't a Chance)

**Chapter Twelve (There Wasn't a Chance)**

Ward winced as he arrived in Coulson's office and was met with a scathing glare. He walked slowly over to the front of the Director's desk.

Coulson pointed to one of the chairs, "Sit." he stated firmly.

Ward nodded hesitantly and slid down into the chair.

Coulson crossed his arms, "Now, Ward, why did I call you in here?" he asked.

Ward looked away and didn't respond.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you." Coulson stated. "Now answer my question."

Ward looked at Coulson, "I don't know, you tell me. I was just trying to do what you asked me, protect."

"I didn't see that. All I saw was that Skye was gone."

Gritting his teeth, Ward responded, "Because an unknown alien being _**took **_her."

"Did you even try to stop him?" Coulson asked. "Because I don't think you did. You failed in my simple mission."

The chair slid back as Ward bolted to his feet, "That's because you didn't give me a damn chance!" he hissed. "I tried, Coulson, I tried!"

Coulson frowned, "I don't think you did."

"I swear I did!" Ward yelled. "How the hell do you expect me to take down a being that isn't even human?!" He started to circle around the desk to approach Coulson, and Coulson started to reach for the gun in his desk.

"Ward, don't come any further." Coulson stated.

"You didn't even give me a chance." Ward muttered. "I tried to protect Skye, I did. But I didn't know that the alien would be able to lift me clear off the ground, throw me against the wall, and teleport away with Skye. How was I supposed to know? Tell me? I've never even heard of a Kree, have you?" he asked.

"How are we supposed to protect others from something we don't even understand?" Ward asked. "And SHIELD has always been messing with things that they can't even begin to understand, let alone protect others from it. Remember the Tesseract? I think I remember that SHIELD didn't understand it, messed around with it, and that got Loki on Earth, and that got you killed."

Coulson flinched at the mention of his death, "Do not bring that up around me." he stated.

Ward stepped closer, "But it's true. We don't know what a Kree is, so how am I supposed to know how to deal with it?" he asked. "You didn't even give me a chance."

"I did! You took your only chance and that got Skye kidnapped!" Coulson exclaimed. "And now we don't even know where she is, and it's your fault."

"My fault?! My fault?!" Ward screamed. "Haven't you been listening to what I have been saying the whole entire damn time?! I told you that I tried to protect her, it's just that I can't freaking protect anybody from a damn alien that appears out of nowhere!"

"You know what, go back to your quarters." Coulson ordered.

"I don't have any quarters to go back to!" Ward exclaimed. "Because you never gave me a room!"

"Just go somewhere other than here!" Coulson exclaimed. "And get out of me sight!"  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ward hissed as he stalked out of Coulson's office. "Because you're not the Coulson I used to know."

* * *

Sometime later as Ward was stalking the hallways of Headquarters, he ran into May. He froze as he saw May. "M-May." he stammered.

"That would be Deputy Director to you." May responded. "And what are you doing roaming the halls?" she asked. "I thought you were in Coulson's office."

"I was until he kicked me out." Ward replied. "He's blaming me for Skye's kidnapping event though I told him several times that I tried to protect her. It's just that I can't protect somebody from something unknown."

May sighed, "I saw the fight on the cameras. Believe it or not, I do believe you tried. That doesn't mean that I like you, I'm just saying that I think that you tried. That Ender being had the upperhand, that's all."

"Try telling that to Coulson."

"You can't get anything into his head these days." May said. "He's too stubborn. He goes his way and his way only."

Ward raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with him anyway?" he asked. "He's not the Coulson I used to know, and I know he's not just acting that way towards me."

"I can't believe I'm telling you this, but you're right." May said. "Within the past year, his mind has been slipping. We don't know what exactly is causing it, but Simmons is thinking that it has something to do with the GH-325 running through his veins."

"Like the stuff that's in Skye?"

"Yes, that stuff. But Coulson is the only one showing any side effects. He's becoming more and more stubborn and hot headed, he's forgetting things. I don't even think he's suited to be Director. But bear with him through these episodes, they pass."

"How are you going to get Skye back?" Ward asked, trying to change the subject.

"We don't know, we're working something out. But in the meantime, you can't be roaming the halls of Headquarters, you're supposed to be under strict watch." May said.

"Where the hell am I supposed to go?" he asked.

"There is a room that Coulson had assigned you just before Ender attacked, you'll go straight there. And whatever things you had at that motel that was yours is there. Go straight there and don't come out, Coulson's orders."

"How are they even orders anymore when he's loosing his mind?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Ward and Coulson get into an heated argument and Coulson sends Ward out. Later May reveals that Coulson's mind is slipping due to the GH-325. That's not good, right? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	13. Chapter 13 (Forget it All)

**Chapter Thirteen (Forget it All)**

Ward had remained in his quarters for three days. Forget quarters, it was his new jail cell. He wasn't allowed to go out of the room and agents brought him his food three times a day. But still, he could say that the room was much nicer than his cell. It had a decent bed, bathroom, tv, and computer believe it or not.

But Ward didn't pay attention to any of these things, he was too busy worrying about Skye. Coulson had locked him out of the investigation of Skye's kidnapping. The only way he knew anything was that Triplett had come by yesterday with Fitz and told him how it was going, despite Fitz giving Ward the evil eye the whole entire time.

Ward was getting fed up with the whole situation, fed up with Coulson. He wanted to help, he wanted to get Skye back. But no, Coulson blamed everything on him and only thought that he would make everything worse if he tried to help.

He wanted to become the hero he never was, he even had attempted to recapture the Fridge inmates that he helped break out. And when he finally had his break, his chance at a new life, a simple mistake threw it all away. And now he was starting to feel guilty for not trying harder to protect Skye.

Hell, he could've tackled that Ender guy and held him down until Skye had ran to safety. But of course his first instinct was to shoot first. But tackling probably wouldn't have worked either, Ender would've probably teleported out of his grasp, grabbed Skye, and teleported away while Ward was confused.

Ward slammed his fist into the sheets of the bed. He wanted to do something, but he just felt so damn helpless locked up in his quarters.

'_Losing his mind or not, Coulson's being a huge ass about this whole thing. I would think that we would want to have all the help he could get to find Skye. I probably couldn't do anything with them anyways, nobody talks to me. Triplett and Simmons might, maybe May, but Fitz and Coulson wouldn't. It would be way too hard to find Skye with everyone worrying about whether I will kill them or not the whole entire damn time. Think, Grant, think. What can be done?" _he thought.

His eyes drifted around the room and to his mask that sat on the small dresser near the bed. He never knew how the mask ended up back in the room, he assumed Coulson had placed it there a few days ago before his breakdown wanting Ward to use it on missions.

That's when his big idea formed in his head. Forget Coulson and the others, he himself could just go and Find Skye, alone. He didn't need the others with him, they would probably just slow him down.

He got off the bed, walked over to the dresser, and picked up the mask. Turning the mask over and over in his hands, he thought about his idea. Would it work? Could he rescue Skye all on his own? He hoped he could.

Taking one last look at the mask, he slipped it on. He knew this would be a hard, long road, but he had to do it. And he knew that it may involve stealing SHIELD property (getting weapons, supplies, and a mode of transportation) and escaping Coulson's technical custody over him, but he had to do it. He had to rescue Skye.

* * *

(Some Amount of Time Later.)

Fitz swung the door open to Ward's quarters, "Coulson wants to see you." he said, but nothing came in response. He went in and looked around, nothing. "Ward?" Nothing.  
Nobody was in the room, but how? As far as Fitz knew, the door was locked from the outside and Ward couldn't get out. He looked around the room once again and noticed a piece of paper lying on the bed. He picked it up and read it.

'_I'm leaving to find Skye. I know this is going to cause a mess, but I couldn't just sit around, locked up, doing nothing while that Ender guy is doing who knows what to her. And I can't sit around and wait until Coulson decides to do something about it. I can't depend on him right now. I'm taking her rescue into my own hands. –Ward.'_

"Ah, damn." Fitz muttered. "I better tell Coulson."

He rushed out of the room and into Coulson's office where he stood waiting for Ward.

Coulson raised an eyebrow when he saw Fitz, "Fitz, where is Ward?" he asked.

Fitz shook his head when he stopped in front of Coulson's desk, "I don't know, he wasn't in his quarters."

Coulson's face dropped, "What do you mean 'not in his quarters'?" he asked. "He was locked in there, he wasn't to be let out."

"Well he is." Fitz said, handing Coulson Ward's note.

"What is this?" Coulson asked, reading over the note. His face fell even more as he got to the end, "Dammit!" he exclaimed. "How the hell did he get out?"

Fitz shrugged, "I don't know. You know we still don't have the best security in this place yet."

"Great, now another damn problem piled right on top of Skye's disappearance." Coulson muttered. "I can't get a single break."

Fitz looked at Coulson, "What do we do?" he asked.

"Find May, Simmons, and Triplett and bring them back here." Coulson said. "And tell them that there's another problem."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So all of that happened. Ward takes Skye's rescue into his own hands and Fitz and Coulson find out that Ward's escaped from Headquarters. Good? Probably not. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	14. Chapter 14 (Beside the Beast)

**Chapter Fourteen (Beside the Beast)**

(A Few Days Ago)

"Let me go!" Skye screamed, beating on Ender's arm as they appeared in a seemingly empty apartment building. "Let me go!"

Ender threw her onto a dusty bed opposite them.

"What the hell was that?!"

Ender shrugged, "You told me to let you go, so I let you go."

"I didn't mean throw me!"

"What does it matter anyways?" Ender asked, stepping towards Skye. "I have you trapped. Why should I listen to you?"

Skye clenched her fists, "Who the hell are you anyways?" she asked.

Ender smiled, the blood dripping down his face running into his mouth, "I told you, I'm your father."

Skye shook her head, "There's no damn way."

He stepped closer until he was right in front of Skye. He traced a bloody finger down her face, "But you are." he cooed.

Skye slapped his hand away and crawled backwards on the bed, "What the hell?!" she exclaimed. "What are you?!"

He smiled again, "I am, my dear, what you would call a Kree. Well a pink-skinned one anyways."

"A what?"

"A Kree, from the planet Hala."

"And how does that involve me?" Skye asked.

"I came to this planet over twenty years ago, running away from my own planet for some, uh, crimes I committed. I was with my what you would call wife and landed in a Chinese province. My wife later gave birth to a small child. But SHIELD got on to us and attacked. My wife was killed and my child was taken from me. I escaped and hid elsewhere."

Realization hit Skye like a train, "You're the one that slaughtered that entire village weren't you?" she asked, backing away.

"Well I wouldn't consider it slaughter more than trying to defend myself and the two Kree I was with. I did get carried away though, but I did enjoy their screams."

"You're a monster."

"No more a monster than you." Ender said. "The same blood that runs in my veins runs in yours."

"I'm not a cold-blooded killer." Skye hissed.

"Sooner or later you will be." he stated. "You come from a long line of murderers. My, I mean your family, the Ka-Lans, are infamous for being murderers. Sooner or later that will catch up to you. You even fell in love with a killer."

"I didn't know that's what he was." Skye hissed. "And I'm not a killer. I won't become some beast like you."

Ender smiled and started to go out of the apartment, "Oh, you will. But for the time being, you'll stay here until I'm ready to leave. And don't count on any rescue from anybody." He closed and locked the door behind him.

Skye gulped. This was her end, right?

* * *

(Current Time After Ward's Disappearance.)

"So he just ran off?" Triplett asked.

"Yes, he left a note saying that he was going to try and find Skye on his own. He didn't want to rely on us to get her back." Coulson said.

"What's missing along with him?" Simmons asked.

"We checked." May said. "He took his mask with him. And we also checked the armory, a couple of ICERs, guns, ammo, and knifes are missing. And food supplies and a few other things are too. He was trying to be well stocked."

"We can't just have him running around again." Coulson said. "As of this morning he was still in SHIELD custody."

"So that makes him a SHIELD fugitive?" Fitz asked.

"Officially, yes." Coulson replied. "So I'll have other teams tracking him down while we focus on finding Skye."

"Sir, don't you think that it may be a good thing that he's trying to find her?" Simmons asked.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"It may make the process go a little better." she said. "You know, with somebody else determined to find her."

"No, I don't want him out there by himself. He's a fugitive. He needs to be tracked down and brought back in." Coulson said.

"You still think that it's his fault that Skye's gone." Simmons said.

"It was. He didn't even try to protect her." Coulson said. "He let that Kree take her away." He looked at Fitzsimmons and Triplett, "You can go now." He said.

The three looked at each other and left the room, wondering what was wrong with Coulson.

May looked back at Coulson, "You know, I saw the footage of the attack." she said. "And believe it or not, I think that he was trying. The ICER didn't work on a non-human."

"I still think that he could've done more." Coulson grumbled. "And now Skye is who knows where."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So all of that happened, and we'll get back to Ward in chapter 15. Don't feel like explaining this one, so think it through and review. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and please review!~ AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	15. Chapter 15 (Written in Blood)

**Chapter Fifteen (Written in Blood)**

(A Few Days Later)

Ward's research and tracking of Ender led him to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Washington DC. Surprisingly, SHIELD had run-ins with this 'Kree' guy before, a little while after Ward was locked away. Ender was noted for murdering innocents and newly trained agents, and now the kidnapping of a prized agent.

The factory was one of his known hiding spots around the country, perhaps his most prized one as there was several accounts of him being here. Hopefully this is where he had brought Skye.

Ward watched the factory from the tree line, making sure that no one was around. When he knew that no one was there, he slipped on his mask and made sure that his ICER and knife were by his side. He slipped out of the trees and quickly made it to the rusted-shut side door of the small factory.

He had to kick open the door since the decades old rust had sealed the door shut, he hoped that didn't attract any attention. He slowly made his way inside the vast area, checking all areas around him for any signs of Skye or Ender.

In the main part of the factory where decades old machinery stood, Ward saw nothing of importance. Hell, there was nothing other than the machinery. He looked around and saw several doors that probably led to hallways and offices, it wouldn't hurt to check behind them.

Three doors in, he still found nothing at all. He was starting to believe that he chose the wrong place to look, until the fourth door. The fourth door he looked behind led to a hallway. He went inside just as an awful stench hit his nose.

Turning on the night-vision mode on his mask, Ward froze as he saw fresh blood lining the walls. "Blood? Here?" he muttered. And that's when he saw the eleven bodies lining the floor. Someone had been here, a monster.

The bodies were of people of various ages, genders, and sizes. It sickened Ward when he saw two little kids among the brutally murdered. Leaning down next to one body and holding his breath, Ward examined the corpse to see what had killed it.

A simple cut to the throat was what had killed the eleven people. But the question was who. Ward figured that it was Ender since when he had shown up at Headquarters he appeared bathed in fresh blood.

Ward walked further down the hallway, counting three more bodies and stepping over massive puddles of sticky, foul blood, until he came to a blood-bathed door. Bracing himself for what could lay inside, he slowly opened the door to a blood-covered office.

He stepped inside and found a light switch that turned on a single, bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. He turned off the mask's night vision and surveyed the office.

There were no bodies, just blood and a lone note that sat on the rotting desk. Ward went over and picked up the blood-stained paper.

'_I'm sure that it is SHIELD reading this and if it is, you've seen your demise. Whether it be the failing Director or the wannabe hero misfit, you cannot get her back. You've seen the blood that covers the hallways. If you continue, yours will join. So back off this mission and leave her in my hands, so it is written in blood.'_

Ward muttered a string of curses and stuffed the note in his pocket. Ender knew that someone would show up here and made sure that a warning could be placed to deter someone from going on. But was the Kree mentioning Ward when he wrote 'wannabe hero misfit'? He mentioned Coulson, so no doubt that he mentioned the next person that wanted to get Skye back the most.

Going quickly, Ward made his way out of the bloodbath and into the openness of the main area. He pulled up the next known hideout of Ender on the HUD of his mask, which wasn't too far from here. It was in the slums of the Capitol in an apartment building.

Ward was surprised that such a cold-blooded killer would keep his hideouts incredibly close to one another. Unless it was all a trap. Ward thought that Ender would be incredibly easy to find, only to find him and be killed on spot.

There was no telling how many others were dead because of this alien, and Ward didn't want Skye or the others to be the next victims of his bloody hands. If he himself had to be killed in order to protect the others from this monster, so shall it be written in blood.

* * *

(Elsewhere.)

Skye sighed, looking at the dirty floor of her apartment 'cell'. It had been a week now that Ender had kept her locked in here. If he wanted her back so bad, why did he keep her locked up? What was his big plan?  
She didn't want to know. There was nothing to do in the apartment, hell there was nothing in the apartment spare some old books and a TV that didn't work half of the time. The only way she had food was when Ender brought some small meals for her, and that may be only once a day.

Skye trembled at the sight of her so-called father every time he came into the room. His skin and clothes were always bathed in blood, no telling where it came from. And she didn't want to know.

She would probably die before anyone came to help. Was SHIELD even looking for her at all? She didn't know. She hoped someone was. She knew Coulson would be worried sick about her, but was he to be relied upon? Skye knew that Coulson's mind had been failing ever so slowly recently and that made him untrustworthy.

And Ward, she knew that Ward was probably feeling really guilty about the whole mess. She saw the fear in his eyes and she blinked out of sight. She saw that he had tried to protect her, but her alien father had gotten the best of him. But why? Why would Ward, after everything that had happen, try to protect her?

That was one of the things that she wanted to find out. And she knew that she would probably never find it out.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Some creepy stuff there, right? Actually, it isnt going to take Ward long to find Ender and Skye, it's whether the Kree can be taken down or not. I'll let you think about that. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	16. Chapter 16 (Never Say Never)

**Chapter Sixteen (Never Say Never)**

May handed Coulson a stack of papers. He looked up and accepted the papers with a rising eyebrow, "What's this?" he asked.

"Reports on this Ender guy." May replied. "We've actually have had run ins with him since SHIELD has been rebuilt. Accounting for about six times. Each time he has slipped our grasp and innocent civilians were left dead, at least fifteen."

"How come I haven't heard of this before?" Coulson asked.

"You were busy, so I took care of it. It wasn't until I pulled the reports back up that I realized that it was the same guy. Coulson, this Kree is a killer. A cold-blood killer. We better rescue Skye before it's too late. If he is actually her father, I still wouldn't put it past him to murder his own kin." May explained.

Coulson sighed, "Do we have any leads on him?" he asked.

"Not really, but we have the known locations of his hideouts." May replied. "We can look at those locations. There's only four, all on the West Coast. Two are in the Washington DC area."

Coulson nodded, "Then we'll check there then. Notify Triplett and Fitzsimmons."

May raised an eyebrow, "Sir, are you sure that Fitzsimmons need to be on this mission?" she asked. "They're still not really field ready, especially if we're going up against a Kree. We've had run-ins with these aliens before, they're strong and ruthless."

"They'll stay on the sidelines and watch for anything suspicious, but we may need them since we're down to three field agents. Fitz has proven himself before and I'm more than sure that Simmons is capable as well." Coulson said. "But I don't want to risk anything."

"Oh, are other teams on the search for Ward as well?" May asked.

"Yes, they are. But I'm sure Ward isn't too far from us." Coulson replied. "He's got that mask, and it probably gives him access to SHIELD servers. And he's probably found information on Ender by now, and he's on the hunt. And I still don't like it. I don't want him roaming around all by himself. He's still a fugitive and I want him caught."

* * *

(Some Time Later Elsewhere)

Ward searched his way through the grime-covered alleyways of the slums right on the edge of Washington DC. His research led him to believe that Ender was possibly holding Skye hostage here, since his most popular hideout was in Washington.

He was hoping that he was right, he didn't want to be wrong and it end up costing Skye's life. If Skye died, and Ward was nearby, Coulson would automatically have Ward killed for it assuming that Ward was guilty. Ward had to save Skye.

He continued to walk around, the map on his mask's HUD guiding his way. After a few minutes, the map led him to an old side-door to a run-down apartment. He gulped seeing that old blood stains streaked the decaying wood.

He had the right place.

Ward tried the doorknob and found that it was open. It was just weird enough to be suspicious. He crept inside of the building, looking all around for any signs of Ender or Skye.

The building had to been abandoned for at least two decades. Old trash littered the busted-up floors and holes peppered the walls. Even the occasional blood streak cut through the blue paint of the old walls. Ward was sure he had the right place.

He walked further down the hall, not sure where to look. After a while of searching the old building, he stopped just to look around.

"I'll never find that bastard." Ward muttered. "Or Skye."

"Never say never!"

Ward spun around at the sound of the shout, and came face to face with the bloody Ender himself. "Now you show up." Ward growled.

Ender shrugged, "I'm surprised that you found me so fast."

"It helps when all your known hideouts are listed in the SHIELD database." Ward retorted. "All I had to do was search them."

"Then I assume you found my 'little' note at the other one, right?" Ender asked.

Ward snarled, "You're a monster, those were innocent people."

Ender stepped forward, "No more a monster than you." he said, poking Ward's chest with his right index finger. "You're a killer and a thief. You lied to those you actually cared for you. You actually had people you could call family for once, and you threw that all away. You're the real monster here. Take off the mask and show your real self for a change. Stop hiding who you are. I just see a monster."

Ward unsheathed his knife and held it up against Ender's throat, "I'm not that person anymore, and you don't know me." he growled. "I've changed."

"Oh really?" Ender asked. "Because this behavior says otherwise." He looked down at the knife."

"You kidnapped Skye."

"I didn't kidnap her. She's my daughter and I was just taking her back." Ender said.

"Father or not, you took her against her will. That's kidnapping. And I'm going to get her back." Ward growled.

"Let's see here. You're outnumbered and outmatched. SHIELD is on your tail and you're up against a Kree that outpowers you. You're done for." Ender stated.

Ward stepped forward, "I will never lose to you."

Ender smiled, "What did I say? Never say never."

Next thing Ward knew, his eyes were meeting the floor and his vision was succumbing to darkness.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I don't own AoS, Marvel does. I'll just leave you on that cliffhanger since I don't feel like elaborating anymore since I'm extremely tired. I bet you hate me by now, right? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	17. Chapter 17 (The Countdown Begins)

**Chapter Seventeen (The Countdown Begins)**

Coulson stood in the middle of the small SHIELD jet looking at the four agents that surrounded him, "Alright, this is our mission." he said. "The other three hideouts have been searched by other SHIELD team and they have come up empty. This one is the last one. We search this one, take down Ender, and find and rescue Skye if they are there. Understand?"

They nodded.

"Good. We'll go in fast and quiet, don't make any sounds to mark our presence. I wouldn't put it past the Kree to murder Skye if he knows that we're here. And we don't want that. If you see him, immediately shoot at him. And we'll split into two groups, May will be with me and Triplett will be with Fitzsimmons. Watch your backs."

"And if Ward happens to be there?" Triplett asked. "What do we do then?"

"Subdue him, don't kill him. Just knock him out if you can." Coulson replied. "Then you notify me. But our number one priority is to take down Ender and rescue Skye, remember that."

* * *

Ward groaned and peeled his eyes open to faint darkness. He sat up off of the floor and held the back of his head, it hurt like hell. Looking around, he saw that his mask lay broken in two beside him.

He pulled himself to his feet and looked around the room. There was nothing in the room other than a few pieces of old trash on the floor. The one, lone window was boarded-up, the paint was peeling off of the walls, and the door was boarded-up as well. How did he get in here?  
Then he remembered. Ender. The Kree had somehow knocked him out and teleported him into the room. Ward was locked in the room and Skye had to be somewhere nearby.

His weapons, where were they? Ward checked his side and saw that his knife had been left there but his ICER and pistol were gone. Either Ender didn't realize that there was a knife, or he had left it there for the battle to come. The inevitable battle.

Ward unsheathed the knife and headed to the lone, boarded-up door. Along with it being covered in old, wooden boards, it was locked from the outside as well. His knife could probably take care of the rotting boards, but he had nothing with him to take care of the lock.

With one, big slash, Ward sliced the knife through one of the several boards, the rotten wood crumbling to pieces from the sharp blade's force. He repeated the action over and over until all of the boards lay at his feet as tiny, little shards of wood.

Sheathing his knife, Ward tried the lock again and it was still locked. He bent down and examined the rusty lock. He stood back up and figured that one, solid kick would do the door justice. He swung his foot back and propelled it into the door, the flimsy, rusted lock breaking against the pressure and the door swung forward with a great, incredibly loud force.

Ward winced at the loud crash the door made, afraid that it would attract Ender. He peeked into the hallway and saw that it was still deserted. He slipped into the darkness and began walking down the corridor, until he heard a cry for help.

"Is someone there?! Please help me!"

Ward froze, it was Skye.

"Skye?!" he called.

"Help! He's near!" she cried again.

Ward rushed down the hallway, running towards the sound of Skye's pleas. He turned a corner and kicked in a door to a room where he thought Skye's voice was coming from.

As he saw into the room, he saw Skye sitting on the bed, eyes wide with fright.

"Grant?!" she exclaimed.

Ward came into the room as Skye got off of the bed and came over to him, "Skye, you're alive!" he said. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes, other than a crazy, alien, maniac that claims to be my father has me locked up in here. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to get you, Skye." Ward replied.

"Where's Coulson?"

"He's, uh, not with me."

"He sent you by yourself."

"Ah, no. He wanted me locked up, he thought I was responsible for your kidnapping. I, um, ran off."

"You ran away from SHIELD to find me?" Skye asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

A hand went across his face, "That's the stupidest idea, Grant!" she exclaimed. "Don't risk yourself like that!"

He rubbed his cheek, "You still care about me?" he asked.

Skye partially blushed, "No, no, I don't!" she stammered. "And why would I?" she asked. "You're a criminal!"

Ward looked around, "Come on Skye, we need to go before he shows up."

"'He'? Who's that?"

Ward saw Skye's eyes widened, "Grant." she said, pointing to something behind Ward.

Ward quickly unsheathed his knife and spun around, only to meet Ender's gaze.

Ender grabbed Ward's wrist, keeping Ward from digging his knife into him. "You're out of your room, I see." he said. He frowned, "I don't like that."

"You're going down, now." Ward growled, struggling against Ender's grasp of his wrist.

Ender plucked the knife out of Ward's hand and pushed him backwards. He pointed the knife at Skye, "You get the hell back over there, missy, this is going to get bloody." He smiled a devilish grin.

Ward charged towards Ender, only to have the Kree stop him with his own knife. Ward froze as white-hot pain lanced through his body.

"Grant!" Skye cried.

He looked down, eyes frozen in fear at what he saw. His knife was stuck in his stomach, blood oozing out from around it. He looked back up at Ender, who in turn was laughing like crazy.

"What did I tell you about all of this?" Ender asked. "Don't. It's that simple."

In a final attempt at what strength Ward had left, he grabbed the Kree by the neck with both hands, pulling him down to the ground with him as he collapsed to the rotten, wood floor. "I won't. I won't let you take her." he said in sparse breaths. "I already failed once, I don't want it to happen again."

Ward slowly, while trying desperately to hold Ender down in one hand, pulled the knife out of his stomach and plunged it into Ender's alien head. Ender further collapsed to the ground.

Ward sent a glance at Skye, who in turn was running over to him, before passing out. She crouched down, "Grant, are you still there?" she asked. "He's gone, hang on. I can get someone to come."

A broken laugh cut through the tense air. Skye watched in horror as Ender got to his feet, knife still buried in his head.

"Did you really think that an Earthen knife would take care of a Kree, did you?" he asked. "Because it won't."

He pulled the knife out of his skull and threw it to the floor, blood flinging in the air. "I honestly thought that this would be a good battle, now I see that it was just an easy one." He grabbed Skye's wrist, "Come on, we're going elsewhere."

Skye kicked him in his crotch, making him release his grip on her. She ran over and grabbed the bloody knife off of the floor and held it up. Her eyes shifted from the bloodied, unconscious Ward who laid in a pool of blood on the ground to her father whose face was distorted in rage.

"What the hell?!" he snarled. "You have spunk though." He laughed, "But you won't win. I'll kill you before I let anyone win."

"No, you won't kill anyone else." Skye said, taking a step towards her father. "Because too many people have died under your hand. I'll stop you."

"If your precious specialist couldn't, what makes you think that you of all people can?" Ender asked.

"I probably can't." she admitted. "Ward was brave, I'll say that. But he's too rash in putting me in front of himself. He's too sacrificial. But he's the one that trained me, even though he betrayed me in the end."

Ender smiled, "Then why do you still care for him?" he asked.

"I don't know." Skye replied. "But I see a different man in him than who he was before, something's changed in him."

"Blah, blah, blah, he'll die anyways."

"Why do you want me anyway?" Skye asked.

"I want what was taken from me." Ender hissed.

"I am not someone's property!" Skye exclaimed. "That's not who I am. I am Skye, an agent of SHIELD! I am not someone's property, I am human!"

"You are far from human, my little monster."

"And that's where you're wrong. I may be Kree biologically, but my heart's human, and that's my advantage. All you do is kill, and that's your downfall, your Achilles' Heel."

Ender narrowed his eyes, "What are you saying?" he asked.

Skye looked back to the unconscious Ward lying on the ground, "I'm saying this is where you're going down."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Boy, that was a long one. I'll just leave you here since it's already so long and I'm tired. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	18. Chapter 18 (The Death Anomaly)

**Chapter Eighteen (The Death Anomaly) **

Ender smiled a devious smile, "Oh, really?" he asked. "What makes you say that? You're clearly outmatched. Your precious specialist lies dying on the floor and any help is miles away. I may be your father, but what makes you think that that won't stop me from killing you?"

Skye gulped, the knife trembling in her hand, "You're too confident. You're too sure that you are going to win."

"Because I am going to win. There's no doubting that."

"You've killed too many people already." Skye said with a tremble. "And you're going to stop right now."

Ender smiled and approached Skye. She tried to back away, but Ender grabbed her arm tight, "Why not give up and come with me?" he asked, stroking her cheek.

Skye tried to struggle and break free of his grasp, but she couldn't. His hold was too strong. "Because I don't want to. I don't want anything to do with you. I'm not like you."

Ender pulled her close, "But you're my daughter, darkness and death run through your veins." he said, plucking the knife out of her hand and dropping it to the floor Sooner or later you'll have to embrace it. Everyone in the family eventually falls to a centuries-old curse. I don't know its origins. Everyone born to the Ka-Lan family falls to the curse and becomes murderous monsters later on in life. You'll have to embrace it soon."

Skye pushed her father away, "But that's not who I am." she said. "I'm not a monster and I'll never be one either. If it's 'in my blood' like you say, I'll try my best to avoid it. Because I won't let myself fall to that, fall to some curse."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because I'm stronger at heart than you. You're just a heartless monster intent on killing everything he sees. And you're going to be stopped, you're going to die."

Ender raised a blood-caked eyebrow, "And how's that?" he asked.

A sudden white-hot pain lanced through his foot.

"Me."

Skye and Ender looked to see Ward slowly coming to his feet, holding onto the wall for support. He held the knife in one hand, in which he had just stabbed Ender in the foot with.

"Grant, stay out of this!" Skye exclaimed.

"Skye, you can't defeat him on your own. And I made a promise, to, to protect you." Ward huffed, struggling to stand on his feet.

"Grant, I don't need help!"

"Listen to her, son." Ender sneered. "Stay out of it, you're already dying. You're just gonna speed up the death process."

Ward grabbed Ender's neck and dug the knife deep into it, "Don't call me son." he growled. He slid the knife out and sent the strongest punch he could muster into the alien's gut.

Ender heaved, and tried to wipe away the blood that was pouring from his neck.

"You may be alien, but nothing can survive losing too much blood." Ward huffed.

"Neither can you." Ender snarled, sending a foot into Ward knife wound, opening it even further and causing more blood to spill out.

Ward cried out in pain, but tried his best to stay on his feet, "Y-you, you, won't get me that easily." He grabbed Ender by the arm and pulled him down, sending the knife into the Kree's back and a foot connected to his stomach.

Ender grabbed Ward and tackled him to the ground with a massive thud, connecting his fist with Ward's nose with a massive, sickening crunch.

Skye winced as she saw the blood start to stream out of Ward's nose in a heavy flow. His nose was broken.

Ward took Ender by the arms and rolled him over, getting on top of him. He sent the knife again into the alien's shoulder.

With a massive shove, Ender sent Ward flying into the nearby wall, causing Ward's head to connect with the decaying drywall and knock a hole in it.

Dazed and confused, Ward watched in a fog as Ender came over and loomed over him.

Crouching down, Ender smiled, "Any last words to say before I kill you and take my daughter to where she rightfully belongs?" he asked.

"Yeah." Ward said, grabbing the Kree's neck. "Time's up." He slit Ender's throat about two inches in and pushed him to the ground. He watched as the blood and life drained out of the alien.

"You. Little. Bastard." Ender mumbled as all life drained away from him and died.

Ward let his knife drop to the ground and he leaned his head back against the hole in the wall. Dark spots danced around the edges of his vision as Skye ran over and crouched beside him.

"Grant, please hold on. I'll find a way to contact Coulson. Ender's gone, all you have to do is hold on." she said softly.

Ward tried to nod in response but couldn't, killing Ender had drained what strength he had left.

"Skye! Skye!"

Skye looked up and towards the broken-down door, "Coulson?!" she cried out. "I'm in here!"

A few seconds later, Coulson, May, Triplett, and Fitzsimmons came running into the room.

Coulson stopped them, eyes growing wide at the bloody scene, "W-What happened?" he asked.

"Ward came out of nowhere, trying to rescue me from Ender. Ender attacked and stabbed Ward in the gut. Ward killed him by slitting his throat in a last attempt." Skye pointed at the dying, bleeding Ward on the ground, "But he's dying, he isn't going to make it."

Coulson looked at Simmons and the biochemist ran over to Ward's fallen body and crouched down and examined, "He's still breathing, but barely. The wound is massive and needs immediate care. He needs to be taken back to Headquarters, now."

Coulson nodded and looked at the team, "Triplett, help me get Ward back to the jet. I'll get another SHIELD team to retrieve Ender's body. We need to get Ward back, now."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So yeah, Ender is dead and Ward is dying. Great isnt it? (Sorry for the bad fight scene, I can't do those worth a crap.) Will Ward survive, and if he does, will the team accept him and congratulate him on what he has done? Or will he be thrown in jail again? Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE reivew! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	19. Chapter 19 (The Apology Confession)

**Chapter Nineteen (The Apology Confession)**

(Approximately a Week Later)

In a swirl of mind-numbing confusion, Ward awoke, shielding his eyes from blinding, white light. He groaned, trying to sit up, only to have a hand once again push him back down. He looked to his side, "Simmons." he said.

Simmons crossed her arms, "No, you're not getting out of this bed. You've been unconscious for a week, Ward. And you'll probably be in here for another week."

Ward frowned, "A week? Wait, what happened?" he asked.

"We found you bleeding and dying on the ground with Skye watching over you. You had a nasty knife wound in your stomach."

Ward jerked up, only to settle back down to a twinge of pain, "Skye." he said. "Is she ok? Where is she?"

"Right here, thanks to you."

Ward and Simmons looked to the infirmary room doorway to see Skye walking in.

"You saved me, I've got to thank you for that." she said, standing beside Simmons.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Ward asked.

Skye nodded, "You killed him, slit his throat." she replied. "You don't remember?"

"Not much, it's all a blur."

"You killed my father and saved me from him. That's all you've got to remember." Skye said, placing a quick kiss on Ward's forehead.

The two girls laughed as Ward slightly blushed.

"You've forgiven me?" he asked, flustered.

"Not that much." Skye said. "Nothing will ever erase what you did during the Uprising, but saving my life did make me like you just a little bit more. Or was that just all a ploy?"

Ward shook his head, "No, no, no. I wanted to save you. I felt guilty for Ender taking you, I felt that I let him take you."

"Mainly because I made you feel that way."

Ward looked to see Coulson, May, Fitz, and Triplett coming into the room.

"Ward, I've got to apologize for everything." Coulson said, coming near the bed. "I wasn't in my right mind. I let the grief cloud my mind and I punished you for that."

Ward didn't say anything.

"Look, you can be mad at me, I understand that. I know that I was being a total ass. I've been losing control of my mind lately, I don't know what's wrong though."

Ward moved his arms and noticed that they weren't handcuffed to the sides of the bed, "You didn't handcuff me like last time." he said.

Coulson sighed, "I think that I can trust you a little more this time."

Ward looked at Coulson, "Are you giving me another chance?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. But one good deed doesn't undo everything that you have done." Coulson said. "You've still got a long ways to go until you can really regain our trust."

Ward nodded, "I know that. But, I'm not doing any vigilante stuff anymore."

"I wasn't going to let you anyways." Coulson said. "You'll work strictly with us, under my watch. But this time I'll be a little more lenient with the chances. I understand now that you did try to save Skye, and you went to the ends of the world to get her back. And we're all glad for that."

"Where's Ender's body now?" Ward asked.

"Another SHIELD team got him. Either he's going to be examined or incinerated." Fitz said.

"I rather have him incinerated." Coulson said. "I'll let the morgue know."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "SHIELD has a morgue?" she asked.

"Of course, where else does the bodies go?" May replied.

"Well then." Triplett added.

"Never mind that." Coulson cut it. He looked back at Ward, "Do you accept my proposition?" he asked. "Will you come back with us?"

Ward looked back at the faces of his former teammates, each looking at him just a differently than they did when he was first brought back here a few weeks ago. He thought for a moment then nodded, "Yes, I do." he said. "I'll come back to SHIELD."

"You'll have to heal first though." Coulson said. "Recovering from a wound like that takes a while. I know. But at least you didn't die and was resurrected like I was, that was hell."

"We know already, Coulson." Fitz complained.

Coulson rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, I have something for you." He pulled the broken pieces of Ward's mask out of his suit jacket and handed them to Ward.

Ward looked at the two halves, "This isn't me anymore." he said.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Ok I have one question. Who are you?"

"What?"

"Who are you?" Coulson repeated. "Remember what I asked you before you went to jail. Who are you without Garrett? You let him define you. And now that's he's gone and you've had way over a year to dwell on that. I'm asking you a simple question. Who are you?"

Ward took a breath, "Honestly, I still don't know. I've been working on that. I wanted to redefine who I was and that's still going on. I know that I am Grant Ward, but at the moment I can't take it any further than that."

Coulson nodded, "I like to see where this all comes out to over time." he said, walking out of the room with May.

Skye looked to Ward, "Again, thank you Grant."

Ward smiled and nodded slightly.

"Aw, the robot's smiling!"

Ward shot Skye a warning glare, "I'm not a robot!"

"You still are."

Fitz spoke up, "Hey, did you ever figure out who rescued you?" he asked.

Ward frowned and shook his head, "No, that's something that I never figured out. The guy remained a mystery."

"Maybe he'll show up soon?" Triplett said.

"I don't know, but I'm thankful for whoever did it." Ward replied. "He saved me, but it better not be another Garrett though."

"I don't think it would be." Simmons said. She looked at the others, "Let's let him rest. He did just wake up from a week long coma."

The agents smiled at Ward and left the room. Ward settled down back into the bed and smiled softly to himself. Hopefully this was the start to a new life.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. One more chapter! And I might reveal who the mystery savior was! Don't feel like elaborating on this chapter since I'm sick. Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will return in a chapter. Keep reading and PLEASE review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	20. Chapter 20 (Home)

**Chapter Twenty (Home)**

(A Week and a Half Later)

Ward walked down the halls of Headquarters slowly, still sore from his almost life-ending wound from two and a half weeks ago. Simmons and other SHIELD doctors had cleared him a few days ago, but he wasn't allowed to do anything major yet, Coulson said it would still take a while for that.

He found his way to one of the common rooms where the rest of the team was, all surrounding a couch in which Fitz and Triplett were in a heated Xbox battle with some war game.

"Aw, come on Trip, that's not fair!" Fitz exclaimed.

Triplett smiled as the others laughed, "Face it, Fitz. I'm better at video games than you!"

Ward smiled slightly, thinking about everything that had led up to this exact moment.

'_Everything did work out in the end.' _he thought. _'Even though becoming a vigilante wasn't the best way to go, I did find a way to become a better man in the end. I still have a long way to go until they fully accept me again, but this is probably a good start. I made my choice, and this is it.'_

Ward watched as Skye's gaze drifted to him, and she smiled.

"Grant, what are you doing way over there?" she asked. "Come over with us!" she exclaimed.

Ward shrugged and came over and joined the team, sitting down in a chair opposite the couch.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "Ward, you know if you want to regain our trust, distancing yourself from us isn't the best way to go."

"I just got here, Coulson." Ward retorted. He looked to Fitz and Triplett who were still immersed in their game, "What are those two playing anyways?" he asked.

"I believe it's called _Halo _or something like that." Simmons piped up. "Those two fools are making a big deal over nothing, they're just killing each other over and over."

"It's fun, Jemma." Fitz said. "You should try it."

Simmons shook her head, "I rather not, I don't like killing things."

Fitz paused the game along with an exclamation of 'Hey!" from Trip, and turned to look at Simmons, "It's just a game, and we're shooting aliens."

"You're not shooting aliens, Fitz. You're shooting each other." Simmons replied.

"But it's still fun!"

"Go back to the game, Fitz!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Fine." Fitz muttered, unpausing the game.

Ward got up and started walking towards the door.

May turned to look at him, "Where are you going? You just got here." she said.

"Ah, I left something in my quarters. I'll be right back." Ward replied.

"You better be right back!" Skye exclaimed. "'Cause I'm about to play against Fitz! And you don't want to miss that!"

"I'll be sure not to miss it." Ward said. "And I'll be back in a few minutes, it's not like I'm going to another state." He walked out of the common room and went to his small quarters.

"Ah, there you are." Ward said, finding his phone on the small dresser next to a note he hadn't seen just a little while ago. "What's this?" he asked, picking up the note.

He opened up the note and read it.

'_Ward, at one point I probably wouldn't have liked you very much considering you once alongside Garrett. But I'm glad that I had you pulled from the prison wreckage and didn't leave you to die. You may have taken my suggestions a little out of hand with that vigilante crap, but you did protect SHIELD in the end from a menace. Coulson may be hard on you for a while, he's prone to that. But I suggest that you always follow his orders from now on if you want your place back here. I've always believed that a man was a part of something bigger, and you need to prove that. You need to prove if that part is SHIELD or not, whether you are the man you want to be or the man who once were. Don't make me regret on deciding to pull your ass out of that rubble. I mean it. Nicholas J. Fury.'_

Ward almost dropped the note. Fury? Fury was the one that pulled him to safety? He couldn't believe it, he thought the man was dead. But why would Fury of all people save him? Ward believed that he didn't amount to much and why would that matter to the former director?

Was Ward really part of something bigger?

Ward stashed the note inside of his dresser, he didn't want any of the others to find it. He returned back to the common room where the rest of the team still was.

Skye held up the Xbox controller she was holding, "You missed it, Grant!" she exclaimed. "I beat Fitz big time!"

"You cheated!" Fitz exclaimed.

"I did no such thing! Come on Ward, play against me!" Skye said with a smile.

Ward shrugged and thought that it wouldn't hurt to try. He sat down on the couch beside Skye and they started to play.

But Ward thought back to the note.

'_Is this what I am a part of? Is this who I am? Yes, I am part of this team even if it is still a long, bumpy road until I fully fit in. I made the choice a few months ago to become the man I never was, a good man. And I guess now that's who I am. And I intend on it staying that way. I am Grant Ward, agent of SHIELD. Not Hydra, not Garrett, not nothing, SHIELD. And these are the people that prove it. And I did really change who I am.'_

"Grant, stop shooting me!" Skye exclaimed.

"Isn't that the point of this game?" Ward asked.

"He's got a point, Skye. He's supposed to be shooting you." Coulson said.

"Ugh." Skye complained.

Ward smiled softly, _'And now I am really home.'_

**_-End-_**

* * *

**Author's Note: **I don't own AoS, Marvel does. End of story! I hope you enjoyed this bumpy ride! I know it wasn't the best story in the world, but I give thanks to who stuck with it all the way! Please review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


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